The little man on the apex

After getting off the boat from the pier, Zhao Jing went home to put down his luggage, and brought Xiaoyue to find Zhou Ziyu.

During these years of wandering abroad, he always thought of Ping'an Village, Lanxi, and looking back at the mountain.

I also miss Zhou Ziyu - his little bamboo horse.

When he was a child, Zhou Ziyu was very squeamish, with a lot of minor problems and many things.

For example, for a period of time, on rainy days, he would not walk on the dirt road with bumps and holes, but spread plantain leaves on the ground, and walked forward staggeringly, refusing to let his shoes get a little muddy.

Another example is if you are still outside in the dark, you dare not move around, you have to squat in place and wait for your family to pick you up.

Because of these, the children in the village don't like to play with him, especially the boys, and they don't always take him with them.

There is only one Zhao Jing, who follows Zhou Ziyu's buttocks every day, spreads banana leaves for him when it rains, and stays by his side when it gets dark, waiting for his family to come with him.

At that time, Zhao Jing was thin and small, and he grew up late. When he was with Zhou Ziyu, he always made people feel like a son of Yuan's family with his little follower.

In Zhao Jing's memory, Zhou Ziyu always seemed to be shining.

He deserves the best life among his peers, someone who will spread banana leaves for him all his life, and someone who will accompany him at night all his life.

Zhao Jing once imagined that that person would be himself, but he never dared to think about it carefully, thinking that it was an extravagant hope.

He worked hard to learn the craft, worked hard to save money, and later he was able to support himself, and now he feels that he can finally be a match with Zhou Ziyu.

On the way here, Zhao Jing felt that his steps were very easy, and he was carrying a big package on his back, which was filled with Zhou Ziyu's favorite food, as well as many strange gadgets.

Xiaoyue just pestered her brother to ask about the outside world, and didn't have time to tell him the news of Zhou Ziyu's engagement.

So, when Feng Wanlong hugged Zhou Ziyu's shoulders, Zhao Jing's heart sank quickly without warning.

The courage accumulated over the years seemed to have dissipated at this moment. Looking at the two people who were so close in front of him, he felt that his plans were all wishful thinking.

I was just not good enough for him.

Zhao Jing smiled as hard as he could, and exchanged a few words with Feng Wanlong.

Feng Wanlong patted Zhou Ziyu's head, and said casually, "Ziyu and I are going to get engaged in a few days, so come and drink."

One sentence confirmed Zhao Jing's guess in his heart, he nodded and responded softly.

After saying a few more words, Zhao Jing opened the big package, took out a small cloth bag, opened it inside and out, and took out a pair of chubby wooden dolls.

This pair of wooden dolls are very well carved, with round belly and head, and painted all over, they are very cute.

Zhao Jing handed the dolls out, and said with a smile: "I didn't prepare any valuables, I hope you will accept this pair of dolls, as an engagement gift from me."

Zhou Ziyu took the two dolls, looked at them carefully, and muttered, "These dolls look so familiar, I seem to have seen them somewhere."

Feng Wanlong took a wooden doll, touched the head with the remaining one in Zhou Ziyu's hand, and said, "Then thank you Xiaojing, Ziyu seems to like this doll very much."

Zhou Ziyu nodded with wry eyebrows.

Zhao Jing smiled and said, "Ziyu... as long as Brother Ziyu likes it, I wish you all the best of luck."

He took out the other things in the package and distributed them to those present.

The little black dog jolted towards the door again. When everyone turned their heads, they saw that Zhou Ziyu's parents had returned.

Zhao Jing smiled shyly: "Uncle Zhou, Aunt Zhou, do you still remember me?"

Zhou Ziyu's mother, called Aunt Zhou for the time being, was taken aback for a moment, and then smiled in surprise, even the creases at the end of her eyes were smiling, she came forward and warmly grabbed Zhao Jing's arm, looking up and down After thinking about it for a while, he said in disbelief, "Is it Xiaojing? She has grown up so much! My aunt doesn't even dare to recognize her."

"Old man, come quickly. This is Xiaojing, the son of the old Zhao family. He hasn't come back for several years."

Although Aunt Zhou calls him "Old Man", Uncle Zhou is not old at all. His exposed skin is dark and his back is slightly bowed. One can tell that he is a simple and honest farmer.

He was still carrying a shoulder pole in his hand, and his trousers were rolled up below his knees, revealing a section of his calf that was much whiter than the rest. He stepped forward cautiously, "Xiaojing is back."

Aunt Zhou took the pole from Uncle Zhou's hand, then gently pushed his shoulder, and said rather angrily: "I don't know how to pour some water for the child, there is honey in the kitchen, hurry up and make some bowls. "

Uncle Zhou scratched his head in embarrassment, answered "OK" and went to the kitchen.

Feng Wanlong grabbed Uncle Zhou and arrived first: "Uncle, you are here to accompany the guests, and I will do all the work."

Aunt Zhou pointed to Feng Wanlong and introduced, "This is Wanlong, a boy from the Feng family, you should know him."

Zhao Jing smiled and nodded: "I know you."

Feng Wanlong said: "I have already greeted you just now, aunt, you go ahead and I'll make some honey water."

Aunt Zhou said again: "The honey is on the shelf in the back of the kitchen..."

Before Aunt Zhou could finish speaking, Feng Wanlong waved his hand and said loudly, "I know, the innermost wooden shelf is on the top floor."

Aunt Zhou smiled in satisfaction, as if she already regarded Feng Wanlong as her family.

On the top of the wooden shelf in the kitchen, there is a jar of jujube honey, which Aunt Zhou bought in the town. It is as transparent as amber, very shiny, and has a very strong fragrance, sweeter than ordinary honey.

Feng Wanlong took out six identical white porcelain bowls, put a spoonful of honey in each, and rinsed them with hot water.

Everyone in the courtyard got a bowl for each person, and when it was assigned to Zhao Jing, Feng Wanlong looked very meticulous, ordered "it's a little hot", and put his bowl directly on the wooden table next to him.

Zhao Jing moved to the side to make room, and said to Feng Wanlong, "Stop busy, sit down and rest."

Feng Wanlong waved his hand, motioning for Zhao Jing to sit back, "It's fine, I'm not tired."

After speaking, he took the last bowl of honey water in his hand, walked to Zhou Ziyu's place, and leaned against the nearby tree.

Aunt Zhou sat on the small stool brought out by Feng Wanlong, leaned forward slightly, and asked softly, "Xiaojing, will you not leave this time when you come back? I heard from your mother the other day that you are also old. Looking for a marriage for you."

Zhao Jing put down the bowl in his hand and said seriously: "I'm not leaving, I'll stay at home for a while, and then I'm going to go to the town to do some carpentry. As for marriage, I'm still young, so I haven't thought about it."

Aunt Zhou said again: "You're not too young, are you going to be eighteen soon? I remember that your birthday was in early May, and you are more than seven months younger than my family's Ziyu?"

Zhao Jing nodded.

Aunt Zhou continued: "That's right, Ziyu is about to get engaged, so you have to hurry up."

After hearing this, Zhou Ziyu lowered his head shyly. No one noticed that Zhou Ziyu put his left hand behind his back and lightly held it with Feng Wanlong.

Aunt Zhou patted Zhao Jing's hand, "You two had such a good relationship when you were young, I discussed it with your mother and said that I would marry you two!"

After saying this, she realized that something was wrong, and hurriedly glanced at Feng Wanlong.

I saw Feng Wanlong's face changed slightly, but he still managed to maintain a smiling face.

Seeing this, Zhao Jing laughed loudly, and added, "That's because I'm unlucky, Brother Feng is capable and caring, and Ziyu... and Brother Ziyu are very suitable."

After finishing speaking, he turned his head again and said to Feng Wanlong: "When you get married, why don't you buy me a glass of wine!"

Feng Wanlong nodded, and said "OK" decently.

In a blink of an eye, the sun was setting, and Aunt Zhou wanted to stay, but everyone except Feng Wanlong politely refused.

Yuan Xi trotted home with the big bamboo basket containing the chicks.

At the gate of the courtyard, Yan Heyi was looking at him.

Zhao Jing and Yuan Xi didn't go on the way, so they said goodbye at the intersection, and went home with Xiaoyue.

Xiaoyue held Zhao Jing's sleeve, raised her head and asked, "Brother, didn't you say that the pair of wooden dolls belonged to you and Brother Ziyu? Why did it become an engagement ceremony again?"

Zhao Jing slowed down his pace, pondered for a while, and then said slowly:

"When I was young, I went to the town with him once, and he saw a pair of porcelain dolls and wanted them so much, he lingered in front of the stall."

"That doll is quite expensive. I spent all my money on it, but I still can't afford it."

"Later, before I had saved enough money, I was sent to be an apprentice again."

"After learning for a year and a half, I can carve wood, so I made these two wooden dolls thinking of the pair of dolls."

"Originally it was the two of us, but now he is going to be engaged, how can he want this thing?"

"I think that Brother Feng is quite a nice person, and he is also good for Ziyu. I hope they can be happy."

"I couldn't afford the dolls at that time, but if I buy them many years later, will there still be?"

"Maybe it won't happen."

He raised his head slightly, stared blankly at the scary red sunset in the sky, and said in a low voice, "As long as it makes him happy, that's fine."